After celebrating more than 50 business reopenings over the past several months, friends at the Sanibel-Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce were finally able to snip their own yellow ribbon last week, commemorating the reopening of the Chamber Visitor Center near the entrance to the island.
“It’s hard to believe that on October 5, the first day we were allowed back on the island after Ian, my board members and I came back on island by boat,” Chamber President and CEO John Lai told the gathered celebrators. “Eight months seems like forever, and it seems like yesterday all at the same time. If you would have told me that we would be here eight months from that day for this occasion, I would have wanted to sip whatever it was you were drinking.”
Nearly four feet of water destroyed the digital displays and interactive guides, furnishings, and interior structure in the downstairs visitor center. Chamber staff renovated the space with a little bit of the old and a lot of new.
“You’ll find the same bright colors, same friendly faces, and same new bright technology, but new improvements as well,” said John. “We reconfigured the front desk area so that there is a flow of foot traffic and restored the all-popular restrooms. We’ve added comfortable seating areas so both our visitors and our residents can find respite here with family and friends.”
Best of all, the giant seashell heart created by artist Ginny Dickinson is once again welcoming visitors, as well.
“Ginny could never have known what that heart of shells would represent to our community when it was delivered to our community last year,” said John. “It has been seen by over 21,000 visitors who stopped by our welcome center last year, and we’ve fielded hundreds of calls and emails inquiring about it. Ian may have hurt the heart of our community, but that piece of art reminds us that it will be fully healed.”
For more information on our heart of shells, click here!
